My local homebrew supply guy claims that if you mix up a 5 gallon batch of Starsan, that you can keep using the solution as long as it still foams - does anyone know if this is absolutely true? This guy tends to be a little on the uhh... "wacky" side, so I'm a bit skeptical.

Starsan is relatively expensive so there's no way I'm going to use an ounce of it to make a one-time-use 5 gallon solution every time I need to sanitize, but I do like that I don't have to rinse it (bleach) or wait for it to dry (iodophor). So I've been using the same 5 gallons for the last couple of brews without any bad consequences. However, I can't just wait for a batch of beer to get infected to decide to toss my sanitizing solution.

not a star san user , i use idopher and from eveything ive read complete drying is not required drip dry seems to be fine. I sanitize at the sart of my boil and by the time im ready to transfer to fermentor its ready to go and its cheap. would love some feedback on this issue , have yet to be able to taste it in final product .

I haven't heard of the 'foaming test' before, but IIRC, as long as the solution isn't cloudy it can be re-used. The real test is to check the pH...as long as it's pH stays under 3.0 it'll do it's job (it's an acid-based sanitizer). I normally keep a 5 gal keg mixed up so it's always on hand. You can also keep some in a spray bottle for spot sanitizing (really handy). I've used Star San for over 4 years now and am very pleased with it...not one infected batch.

1) Acid anionic sanitizers will sanitize in the presence of proteins which gives you a safety buffer if you have blind spots that are difficult to clean in your equipment.

2) Upon contact with wort, acid anionics break down and will not affect beer flavor, so it is a no-rinse application.

3) To most effectively and inexpensively use this group of sanitizers, dilute to 300 ppm. in a spray bottle. After thouroughly cleaning the equipment, spray it on in a thin, foamy film. Let set in contact for 5-10 minutes. Drain residual. The equipment is now ready for use.

Making soaking volumes of solutions with acid anionics is a waste of the chemicals and is not necessary.

Star-San is a brand for what is a generic formula of a type of acid anionic sanitizer. All major chemical companies make them and they do not differ if designed for the same use. Therefore it can be viewed as a commodity, not a brand specific product. Across the board, Five Star charges the most for their products of all the chemical suppliers while claiming superiority over all other available products of it's competitors. In truth, their products are virtually identical to others available on the market.

I used to be a volume Five Star customer who ordered PBW & Saniclean in 55 bbl. drums. Once the above facts were pointed out to me and I researched the market, I found suppliers with virtually the exact same product at over 1/2 the cost!

Most suppliers offer 1 gallon quantities of liquid products and 5 gallon bucket quantites of dry products. I recommend that you investigate and search out an alternate supplier. You will save a lot by buying in greater volume and switching from Five Star. The only time you should not volume buy is with formulations that have a limited shelf life like peracetic acid or chlorine dioxide which tend to break down after 6 months. PBW (and all the generic equivalents) also has a limited life.... since it is phosphate rather than a sodium hydroxide formulation that is susceptible to moisture breakdown, you have to use more and more of it as time passes to achieve the same effectiveness. There are also characteristics of that style of formulation that don't do well over time with the usage of hard water. It can cause binding of minerals to the walls of stainless/aluminum equipment leading to a slight "blue haze". I and other pro brewers have experienced this even though we also acid wash the quipment. We have since switched to using chlorinated sodium hydroxide which is even cheaper and more effective. This compound, however, should be avoided by home brewers as it is very dangerous and requires special handling precautions.

Regarding the "unless it is cloudy" comment. I mixed up only a gallon with about 1/4 oz or so of Star San product. I used most of it for shaking around in the primary bucket and put some into a spray bottle. Here are my questions.

1. the spray bottle is cloudy...and has been since I mixed it up. When I spray it forms a milky spray....not really any foam. But when I shake it it foams in the bottle.

2. How long must items remain in contact with star san in order to be sanitized. Iodophore I always used 2 min with a concentration of 0.2cc with 1 gallon of water.

The cloudiness is normally due to water chemistry. If you mixed it with distilled water the solution would be clear. Any hardness in the water and it's cloudy. That's why the pH check is the best method. Contact time for Star San is 2 minutes at the recommended dilution.